USDA Offers Telecommunications Money

May 14, 1999

Money to help rural areas acquire telecommunications technology to improve education and medical services is being offered by USDA. Applications are being accepted for more than $160 million in loans and grants this year.

USDA also has made the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Loan and Grant Program more flexible. Rural communities now have three ways to apply for financing: $100 million for loans, $50 million for loans and $5 million for grants available for a new loan and grant combination, and $7.5 million for a competitive grant program.

"With distance learning technology, a student in a small rural school can now be an active participant in college-prep classes taught hundreds of miles away," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. "Likewise, with telemedicine technology, a patient in a small rural health clinic can now be examined by a medical specialist at a distant hospital."

Applications are being accepted through USDA rural development state offices or through the USDA Rural Utilities Service in Washington (202) 720-1255. More information is available on the Internet at www.usda.gov/rus/dlt/dlml.htm.